Post by Rylian on Jun 4, 2012 11:54:18 GMT -8
Introduction
By Doctor Martin Halford of Deep Space Research Facility Darius
One day at an intergalactic bazaar during my vacation from teaching, I had a chance meeting with a small band of most intriguing space-farers who called themselves "Alfir", who originally lived on a world known as Vorbis; a planet in a part of the galaxy we know as the Ancera cluster. What really caught my eyes was their ability to travel through space in what were effectively wooden-hulled galleons. After talking to these traders I decided to learn more about them, and so I arranged several interviews with select members of their population in order to get an idea about their culture, history and anatomy. Having spoken to many, including one of their most respected historians, I am satisfied that I have learned enough to publish this journal.
An Alfir, the plural being "Alfir", is a bipedal humanoid standing at an average height of five feet and seven inches tall with flowing hair, angular features, a serene demeanor, a youthful appearance, and long ears that come to a point at the apex of the external cartilage. They either do not age, or do so very slowly, after reaching sexual maturity at a hundred years old. A few specimens that I spoke to claimed to be well over a thousand years old. Alfir seem capable of manipulating matter in strange ways, an ability they call "The Arcane Arts". This is what empowers them to travel through the vast reaches of space, which they call "The Void Where Rest the Stars". The ships are capable of traveling through hyperspace, which they call the "astral plane". They are extraordinarily lithe, aesthetically appealing, but somewhat frail and distant. Senses of sight and hearing are also above those of a human; they can also see in the dark with a sort of infrared vision.
Origins
By Thorion Skystrider, bard and historian
We Alfir, regardless of world orgin, are the sons and daughters of Kirela. Long ago, the divine beings were once engaged in a brutal war in which Kirela participated. After the death of the original elven war god, she took up his bow and continued the fight against the old gods. It was her blood spilling into the forests that caused us to come into being. Depending on where her blood fell, different types of Alfir were born. Some were born of aspen, others of oak, and others still of ebony. The good doctor doesn't seem to believe in magic, or in the gods, but he is only human so it can't be helped. At the very least this chronicler can take solace in knowing that he is not nearly as vapid as the humans he has met on his home world.
The Four Nations
By Professor Coldbreeze, high elven microbiologist
Vorbetian Alfir have five distinct breeds, each with slightly different physiognomies and vastly different cultures. While all Alfir are experts in magic, each variety specializes in a different kind. No matter the breed they have a more regal and ethereal bearing about them, especially the high Alfir who are simply otherworldly. By about our third or fourth milennium alive, we tend to bring all but the hardiest of men to their knees in awe.
The ruddy-brown skinned wild Alfir of the eastern forest are ruled, as of this publication, by the highly eccentric arch-druid Nolan Tadrim, who worships an aspect of the forest goddess with great moose antlers. Although the healing leaf is important for elven cuisine of all varieties, the wild Alfir are especially fond of smoking it. The majority of spell casters among the wild Alfir are druids and wild mages, although there are also sorcerers and shamans. Sorcerers in particular are especially adept at spells involving random chance and illusion. Clothing mainly consists of simple hide since they lack the refinement of other Alfir breeds. Rods of splendor are their most commonly produced magic item, followed by druid staffs and potions. Wild spells and psychedelic illusions are their favorite types of magic, second only to the nature magic of their druids Most of the time they are fairly easygoing, but the moment their homes are threatened they fight with impeccable ferocity. They don't typically associate with gray and high Alfir, but they will fight to the death to aid them in the event of an orc or Dark Alfir attack, and they don't turn away ambassadors (especially if they come bearing oddities).
Wood Alfir live in the northern woodlands, specifically in an aspen grove surrounded by a thick and primordial forest. Their hair matches the color of the leaves of various species in different times of the year, but the most common color is a coppery red like oak trees in autumn. They build great tree cities linked by arboreal bridges. Since the rangers are so important to the defense of their civilization, the wood Alfir are led by he who holds the office of Ranger-Highlord. Wood Elven Arcanists typically specialize in protective and offensive spells. Since they live so close to the mountain orcs, the wood elven culture emphasizes martial prowess and protection of the woodlands above all else. However, they are not devoid of the finer arts. Poetry and song is typically brief but profound, though some of their ballads about past wars are among the longest ever told. Weapons built by wood elven smiths and bowyers are the most elaborate and elegant, works of art in their own right.
The high Alfir live in the west and are the most traditional and magically inclined out of all their cousins. Although the wood Alfir are more martial than high Alfir, it is the high elven archers that are the most famous. Thanks to their relatively peaceful landscape, the high Alfir have the greatest sense of aesthetics. Young Alfir are able to focus more on art and less on learning how to survive. The most important art is magic...or rather, magic is a tool for creating beautiful things. The high Alfir are presently led by Queen Ilsara Goldfire, noted both for her otherworldly beauty and her mastery of both the arcane and divine magics.
The most urbane Alfir are the gray Alfir, who build great cities amid mystical forests. The cosmos figure very strongly in their culture, as many gray Alfir mages are also astronomers. The most common colors of clothing are silver and blue, like the stars and the night sky. Even their forests appear as galaxies, with star-studded boughs and little pools that shimmer like nebulae. They prefer to wear finery, which is possible thanks to a cultural exchange made several thousand years in the past. The elven king of the time loved the look, adopted it, and the rest of his people followed suit. His descendant and current ruler is Uthaelian II, a wise leader who knows well enough to listen to good advice. Uthaelian isn't any great warrior or powerful mage, but is rather a scholar and an artist. He tries to teach his people the value of aesthetics and learning in every field, magic included of course. Although he can only cast a few rudimentary cantrips himself, he is very knowledgeable about the arcane. Gray Alfir are also partially governed, through advising the king, by a high council made up of prominent nobility and other persons of import. This includes spell casters, scholars, storytellers, high ranking members of the military, and priests. An important artifact of the Gray Alfir is the sacred leaf, whose power and use are known only to its bearers; the Zaradon family.
The last family of Alfir from Vorbis are the extinct Dark Alfir. This was a belligerent race that haunted the underworld of Vorbis. They were of similar build to the high Alfir, but their skin was pitch black and their eyes a blood red. It should be noted that dark Alfir of other worlds are said to exist, but they are not nearly as dangerous as those from Vorbis. Just one of ours would have wiped out an entire platoon of the sissies that dare call themselves dark Alfir. Be glad that they were all wiped out, galaxy. They worshipped Kirela's sister Lozashj, a vile goddess who sought to destroy the world of light and corrupt the entire elven species.
Terminology
by Cultural Aelfologist Thirilanna
Aelfirin: Alfir as a whole.
Aelfir: Male Alfir who has come of age.
Aeifira: Female Alfir who has come of age.
Eli'Shea: An elven woman gifted with second sight from birth. It is unknown what causes this power to come about, but it seems to happen once in ten thousand births or less. Eli'Shea have an important place in elven society as spiritual leaders and advisors.
El'Tan: This is the elven word for king. The feminine form, meaning queen, is Eli'Tanna. The leaders of the gray and high Alfir style themselves as El'Tan.
El'Naraba: Arch-Druid, especially a wild elven one. The term is unisex.
El'Yari: Great ranger, or great commander, or even war leader. It is commonly translated as Ranger-Highlord, for it is the highest rank achievable in the ranger corps of the wood Alfir. It is also used to mean master-at-arms for the gray Alfir and is the title of the general of the high elven archer forces.
Narayari: A ranger, a warrior who lives and fights in a natural setting.
Emralyari: A generic term for an elven soldier who uses the longsword and longbow, named for the Emral weapon set (below).
El'Manar: Arch-Magister of a mage order. The feminine form is Eli'Manara, roughly Arch-Magistrix. High and Gray Alfir have at least two at any given time. It translates literally to great mage, or high mage, depending on the translator.
El'Enor: A high priest, usually of Kirela or of the entire Elven pantheon. The feminine form is Eli'Enora.
Emral: A longsword and longbow set given to a young Alfir upon coming of age; typically 95, but younger for the wood Alfir. The wild Alfir do not practice the Emral tradition.
Mellirth: The healing herb; tastes somewhat like strong basil. When brewed as a tea or baked into savory cakes it has incredible restorative properties; it also goes very good with garlic. When smoked it creates psychadelic effects; the wild Alfir are especially fond of this use, for it inspires them to weave elaborate illusions.
Varskyf: A mighty wood ship capable of traveling in space through magical means, and faster than light travel through astral conduits. They also function as ordinary ships on most types of sea. It is not advisible for Kêrath to board one of them.
Zamala: An enchanted elven wine comparable in strength to dwarven spirits.
Thark: Enemy, used especially for the dark Alfir, the orcs, or anyone stupid enough to encroach on the forest with malicious intent.
Yrm: Dragon. Often preceeded by a qualifier denoting good or evil and succeeded by a suffix denoting a type or descriptior. For instance, red dragons are called Malyrmsar, or evil-dragon-of-fire while a silver dragon would be Ilyrmkora, "good-dragon-of-ice".
The Elements and Energy Types
Zam: Lightning
Kora: Cold
Sar: Fire
Lom: Earth, stone, etc
Gral: Acid or Poison
Mal: Shadow, Pain, anguish, evil, negative energy
Il: Light, good, pleasure, healing energy, power of friendship
Bra: Force, sonic energy, momentum
Oth: Water
Keth: Wind, storms, weather
By Doctor Martin Halford of Deep Space Research Facility Darius
One day at an intergalactic bazaar during my vacation from teaching, I had a chance meeting with a small band of most intriguing space-farers who called themselves "Alfir", who originally lived on a world known as Vorbis; a planet in a part of the galaxy we know as the Ancera cluster. What really caught my eyes was their ability to travel through space in what were effectively wooden-hulled galleons. After talking to these traders I decided to learn more about them, and so I arranged several interviews with select members of their population in order to get an idea about their culture, history and anatomy. Having spoken to many, including one of their most respected historians, I am satisfied that I have learned enough to publish this journal.
An Alfir, the plural being "Alfir", is a bipedal humanoid standing at an average height of five feet and seven inches tall with flowing hair, angular features, a serene demeanor, a youthful appearance, and long ears that come to a point at the apex of the external cartilage. They either do not age, or do so very slowly, after reaching sexual maturity at a hundred years old. A few specimens that I spoke to claimed to be well over a thousand years old. Alfir seem capable of manipulating matter in strange ways, an ability they call "The Arcane Arts". This is what empowers them to travel through the vast reaches of space, which they call "The Void Where Rest the Stars". The ships are capable of traveling through hyperspace, which they call the "astral plane". They are extraordinarily lithe, aesthetically appealing, but somewhat frail and distant. Senses of sight and hearing are also above those of a human; they can also see in the dark with a sort of infrared vision.
Origins
By Thorion Skystrider, bard and historian
We Alfir, regardless of world orgin, are the sons and daughters of Kirela. Long ago, the divine beings were once engaged in a brutal war in which Kirela participated. After the death of the original elven war god, she took up his bow and continued the fight against the old gods. It was her blood spilling into the forests that caused us to come into being. Depending on where her blood fell, different types of Alfir were born. Some were born of aspen, others of oak, and others still of ebony. The good doctor doesn't seem to believe in magic, or in the gods, but he is only human so it can't be helped. At the very least this chronicler can take solace in knowing that he is not nearly as vapid as the humans he has met on his home world.
The Four Nations
By Professor Coldbreeze, high elven microbiologist
Vorbetian Alfir have five distinct breeds, each with slightly different physiognomies and vastly different cultures. While all Alfir are experts in magic, each variety specializes in a different kind. No matter the breed they have a more regal and ethereal bearing about them, especially the high Alfir who are simply otherworldly. By about our third or fourth milennium alive, we tend to bring all but the hardiest of men to their knees in awe.
The ruddy-brown skinned wild Alfir of the eastern forest are ruled, as of this publication, by the highly eccentric arch-druid Nolan Tadrim, who worships an aspect of the forest goddess with great moose antlers. Although the healing leaf is important for elven cuisine of all varieties, the wild Alfir are especially fond of smoking it. The majority of spell casters among the wild Alfir are druids and wild mages, although there are also sorcerers and shamans. Sorcerers in particular are especially adept at spells involving random chance and illusion. Clothing mainly consists of simple hide since they lack the refinement of other Alfir breeds. Rods of splendor are their most commonly produced magic item, followed by druid staffs and potions. Wild spells and psychedelic illusions are their favorite types of magic, second only to the nature magic of their druids Most of the time they are fairly easygoing, but the moment their homes are threatened they fight with impeccable ferocity. They don't typically associate with gray and high Alfir, but they will fight to the death to aid them in the event of an orc or Dark Alfir attack, and they don't turn away ambassadors (especially if they come bearing oddities).
Wood Alfir live in the northern woodlands, specifically in an aspen grove surrounded by a thick and primordial forest. Their hair matches the color of the leaves of various species in different times of the year, but the most common color is a coppery red like oak trees in autumn. They build great tree cities linked by arboreal bridges. Since the rangers are so important to the defense of their civilization, the wood Alfir are led by he who holds the office of Ranger-Highlord. Wood Elven Arcanists typically specialize in protective and offensive spells. Since they live so close to the mountain orcs, the wood elven culture emphasizes martial prowess and protection of the woodlands above all else. However, they are not devoid of the finer arts. Poetry and song is typically brief but profound, though some of their ballads about past wars are among the longest ever told. Weapons built by wood elven smiths and bowyers are the most elaborate and elegant, works of art in their own right.
The high Alfir live in the west and are the most traditional and magically inclined out of all their cousins. Although the wood Alfir are more martial than high Alfir, it is the high elven archers that are the most famous. Thanks to their relatively peaceful landscape, the high Alfir have the greatest sense of aesthetics. Young Alfir are able to focus more on art and less on learning how to survive. The most important art is magic...or rather, magic is a tool for creating beautiful things. The high Alfir are presently led by Queen Ilsara Goldfire, noted both for her otherworldly beauty and her mastery of both the arcane and divine magics.
The most urbane Alfir are the gray Alfir, who build great cities amid mystical forests. The cosmos figure very strongly in their culture, as many gray Alfir mages are also astronomers. The most common colors of clothing are silver and blue, like the stars and the night sky. Even their forests appear as galaxies, with star-studded boughs and little pools that shimmer like nebulae. They prefer to wear finery, which is possible thanks to a cultural exchange made several thousand years in the past. The elven king of the time loved the look, adopted it, and the rest of his people followed suit. His descendant and current ruler is Uthaelian II, a wise leader who knows well enough to listen to good advice. Uthaelian isn't any great warrior or powerful mage, but is rather a scholar and an artist. He tries to teach his people the value of aesthetics and learning in every field, magic included of course. Although he can only cast a few rudimentary cantrips himself, he is very knowledgeable about the arcane. Gray Alfir are also partially governed, through advising the king, by a high council made up of prominent nobility and other persons of import. This includes spell casters, scholars, storytellers, high ranking members of the military, and priests. An important artifact of the Gray Alfir is the sacred leaf, whose power and use are known only to its bearers; the Zaradon family.
The last family of Alfir from Vorbis are the extinct Dark Alfir. This was a belligerent race that haunted the underworld of Vorbis. They were of similar build to the high Alfir, but their skin was pitch black and their eyes a blood red. It should be noted that dark Alfir of other worlds are said to exist, but they are not nearly as dangerous as those from Vorbis. Just one of ours would have wiped out an entire platoon of the sissies that dare call themselves dark Alfir. Be glad that they were all wiped out, galaxy. They worshipped Kirela's sister Lozashj, a vile goddess who sought to destroy the world of light and corrupt the entire elven species.
Terminology
by Cultural Aelfologist Thirilanna
Aelfirin: Alfir as a whole.
Aelfir: Male Alfir who has come of age.
Aeifira: Female Alfir who has come of age.
Eli'Shea: An elven woman gifted with second sight from birth. It is unknown what causes this power to come about, but it seems to happen once in ten thousand births or less. Eli'Shea have an important place in elven society as spiritual leaders and advisors.
El'Tan: This is the elven word for king. The feminine form, meaning queen, is Eli'Tanna. The leaders of the gray and high Alfir style themselves as El'Tan.
El'Naraba: Arch-Druid, especially a wild elven one. The term is unisex.
El'Yari: Great ranger, or great commander, or even war leader. It is commonly translated as Ranger-Highlord, for it is the highest rank achievable in the ranger corps of the wood Alfir. It is also used to mean master-at-arms for the gray Alfir and is the title of the general of the high elven archer forces.
Narayari: A ranger, a warrior who lives and fights in a natural setting.
Emralyari: A generic term for an elven soldier who uses the longsword and longbow, named for the Emral weapon set (below).
El'Manar: Arch-Magister of a mage order. The feminine form is Eli'Manara, roughly Arch-Magistrix. High and Gray Alfir have at least two at any given time. It translates literally to great mage, or high mage, depending on the translator.
El'Enor: A high priest, usually of Kirela or of the entire Elven pantheon. The feminine form is Eli'Enora.
Emral: A longsword and longbow set given to a young Alfir upon coming of age; typically 95, but younger for the wood Alfir. The wild Alfir do not practice the Emral tradition.
Mellirth: The healing herb; tastes somewhat like strong basil. When brewed as a tea or baked into savory cakes it has incredible restorative properties; it also goes very good with garlic. When smoked it creates psychadelic effects; the wild Alfir are especially fond of this use, for it inspires them to weave elaborate illusions.
Varskyf: A mighty wood ship capable of traveling in space through magical means, and faster than light travel through astral conduits. They also function as ordinary ships on most types of sea. It is not advisible for Kêrath to board one of them.
Zamala: An enchanted elven wine comparable in strength to dwarven spirits.
Thark: Enemy, used especially for the dark Alfir, the orcs, or anyone stupid enough to encroach on the forest with malicious intent.
Yrm: Dragon. Often preceeded by a qualifier denoting good or evil and succeeded by a suffix denoting a type or descriptior. For instance, red dragons are called Malyrmsar, or evil-dragon-of-fire while a silver dragon would be Ilyrmkora, "good-dragon-of-ice".
The Elements and Energy Types
Zam: Lightning
Kora: Cold
Sar: Fire
Lom: Earth, stone, etc
Gral: Acid or Poison
Mal: Shadow, Pain, anguish, evil, negative energy
Il: Light, good, pleasure, healing energy, power of friendship
Bra: Force, sonic energy, momentum
Oth: Water
Keth: Wind, storms, weather